


Take A Chance On Me

by ZVArmy



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 18:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19446874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZVArmy/pseuds/ZVArmy
Summary: Alexa Bliss has been starved of opportunities since being called up to Monday Night Raw. Two years of growing frustrations have driven her to the brink of walking out of WWE, but then a chance is finally thrown her way, and it is a big one.





	1. Chapter 1

It felt like the final straw for Alexa Bliss. She literally could not remember the last time she had been booked in a match on Monday Night Raw. It had been months, she knew that much. The entire time, she had done everything she could to earn herself an opportunity, from pitching ideas about changing her character to suggesting taking on the role of backstage interviewer. That was what her desperation to make something of her WWE career had reduced her to.

A couple of years earlier, Alexa had received a surprise call up from NXT to the main roster. Despite predominantly being used as a valet on the developmental brand, and despite the fact that she had never held a championship in NXT, she had been told she was wanted on Raw as a wrestler. It had been one of the best nights of her life. Since then, however, things had gone downhill. She was now the forgotten woman on Raw, to the point where some of the fans were getting behind her online purely because of how little WWE were using her.

Give Alexa a chance had been the hashtag that had started going around. She doubted it would make any difference. She was used to showing up every Monday night and finding out there was nothing for her. It was hurtful and depressing. This week, Vince McMahon had found a way to twist the knife even further.

Alexa had been excited to learn a few days back that she was going to have a match with Sarah Logan on Raw. Sure, she had thought, it would likely be a quick one and she would probably lose, but it was a match on Raw. She had dreamed of it being a start of something for her.

But no. That dream had been crushed before it even got started. A few minutes earlier, she had arrived for Raw feeling determined to give everything she had in the ring. It had all come crashing down around her when she had picked up a copy of the format for that night's episode from a steel chair at the side of the hallway, where someone had left it. To her astonishment, her name was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Logan's.

"Where's my match?" Alexa had despairingly asked TJ Wilson, one of the road agents, who had happened to be passing by as she made the discovery.

"Time was tight, so it had to be pulled," had been the matter of fact reply from TJ.

"But Sarah and I spent two days talking over ideas and rehearsing," Alexa had objected.

"Sorry," TJ had said, giving her a sympathetic smile before continuing on his way.

Sitting on an equipment case, Alexa was still looking down the hallway after him, even though he was no longer in sight. She felt like her stomach was tied in a knot. Her head was spinning. This is it, she thought, her heart breaking. She could take no more. It was time to walk into McMahon's office and quit. It was time to leave her dream job behind and accept that she was a failure.

Hearing someone approaching from the other direction, Alexa turned around. Walking towards her was Clementine, the undisputed star of women's wrestling. Alexa was never a jealous person, but she felt a pang of it now, looking at the former three time Raw Women's Champion. Clem was on TV every week. She got the best segments, the best matches and the best opportunities. She also arguably got the best fan reactions of anyone in the company, such was her popularity. Sure, she deserved it. Her charisma in front of a camera was something else, to the point where it didn't seem to matter that she was a pretty average worker in the ring. WWE seemed to love it all the more because Clem was African American. They had drawn criticism in the past for not having any non-white performers in the main event scene. Clementine had changed that.

Alexa would have given everything to have an ounce of what Clementine had. It just wasn't fair, she thought, feeling tears stinging her eyes.

"Hey, how are you?" Clementine asked, giving Alexa a smile.

"Not good," Alexa blurted out, then burst helplessly into tears.

"Oh god, what's wrong?" Clem asked, hurrying over. As she leaned down and gave Alexa a comforting hug, her trademark white and purple baseball cap fell off.

"I'm going to quit," Alexa wailed. "I can't carry on like this anymore. I can't."

"Hey, hey, calm down," Clementine said delicately, embracing her tightly.

"I can't," Alexa said through her tears. "I try my damn best, Clem. I train as hard as everyone else. I show up every week. I never complain. I always try and be positive, contribute ideas and stuff. And I get nothing in return, not a single match." She realised she looked and sounded pathetic losing it like this in front of Clementine, but she hadn't been able to stop it all pouring out.

Clementine released the embrace, picked het cap up, sat down on the equipment case next to Alexa and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "You're not quitting, Alexa. That's not the thing you want to do."

"Why not?" Alexa asked defiantly, wiping her eyes. "Give me one reason not to. What is the point of any of it?"

"I'll give you a bunch of reasons," Clem said, her tone encouraging. "Your pride. Your professionalism. Your family. Your friends. Your Blissfits." She had left a pause between each thing she listed, finishing up with Alexa's nickname for her fans.

Alexa felt so many emotions all at the same time. Frustration, indeed anger at the way WWE were treating her. Ashamed that she had broken down in front of one of her senior peers. Lastly, she felt the fire starting to burn inside her again. It had briefly been extinguished, but it was there again thanks to Clem. It was true, her family, friends and fans were still pulling for her. How would she ever face them with the news that she had thrown the towel in? No, she couldn't do that. She was not a quitter.

"I see it on your face. You know I'm right," Clementine said kindly.

"You are right," Alexa admitted. "But even so, how do I get out of this hole I'm in? I've tried everything. Literally everything. I'm the forgotten person around here. It's awful."

Clementine patted Alexa on the shoulder and got up. "Keep doing what you're doing. Work hard. Train your ass off. Keep bugging Vince and the writers with your ideas. Have faith, things will get better."

"Thanks," Alexa said, managing a smile.

Clementine nodded and walked away.

Wiping her eyes again, Alexa still felt glum. Have faith. Some advice that was for someone who wasn't religious. Even so, Alexa resolved herself to pick herself up and carry on. "Maybe I should say a prayer?" she muttered with some sarcasm. "It might be the only thing that does me any fucking good."

* * *

Three weeks had gone by since Alexa had been reduced to tears by the frustrations of her dying career. As she had promised herself, she had redoubled her efforts in training and had left nothing in the ring in her live event matches. The reward for her hard work? Nothing, as usual. Yet another two Raw episodes in a row with her name nowhere near the formats.

Now it was week three. As hard as it was, Alexa arrived at the building on Monday afternoon trying to feel positive. When all was said and done, there were a hell of a lot of people in the world who had it worse than her. Also, she had an idea to pitch that would see her romantically involved with Drake Maverick, who was getting over in the 24/7 Championship picture. Who knew, maybe McMahon would go for it? If he did, it would get her on TV. That would be a start.

On her way to the locker room, Alexa saw Paul Heyman, the recently appointed Executive Director of Raw. He was talking to a few of the male wrestlers, but he looked at her to get her attention as she go near to the group. "I've got something for you tonight. I'll catch up with you later."

"Great!" Alexa squealed, instantly thinking how pathetic it was that she was so excited to go after whatever crumbs were about to fall off the table in her direction.

Continuing her journey to the locker room, Alexa encountered a female member of the writing team hurrying in the opposite direction, carrying a bunch of paperwork and looking flustered. Her name was Ashley.

"Hey! Congrats! I'll need to spend some time with you later, okay?" Ashley said, charging past before Alexa could get a word in.

Alexa stopped walking, trying to process what the heck was going on. Congrats? Congrats for what? Before she had much of a chance to think about it, Renee Young's voice came from behind her, sounding cheerful.

"Big night for you, Lexi. I'm pleased for you."

Alexa turned around, shaking her head in confusion. She had always gotten along well with Renee, so she knew she could seek the missing information that she desperately craved. "Renee, I just got here. Heyman wants to see me. Ashley said congrats to me. I have no idea what's going on. Help!"

Renee laughed, amused by her comedic plea. "Girl, you're going over for Tag Team Championship tonight. We all know you've been busting your ass for an opportunity, here it is."

Totally dumbfounded, Alexa just stared at her friend. "If this is a rib, it's not funny," she said after a moment.

Renee smiled. "It's not a rib. You're on Raw tonight, and you're going to become a Tag Team Champion."

"I'm not even in a tag team!" Alexa cried.

"You are now."

"But with who? This is surreal."

"It's you and Clem," Renee took pleasure in saying.

No way, Alexa thought, feeling excitement rising inside of her. Right away, she recalled her breakdown in front of Clem. Maybe a good word had been put in on her behalf as a result? It wasn't how she would have wanted to get an opportunity, but in the place she was in, she would most definitely take it.

Alexa had no idea how the hell her character was going to get Clementine of all people to team with her and go on to win the titles in the space of three hours of television, but she couldn't wait to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

For the first time in ages, Alexa wasn't having to consciously be positive. In truth, she was on cloud nine. Whether it was Vince McMahon, Paul Heyman or Clementine who was behind her getting this spot as Clem's partner, it was the chance that Alexa had been literally begging for.

Standing out in the arena, hours ahead of fans showing up, Alexa was listening to Heyman and Clementine putting together a segment for the show. She found herself thinking back to Clementine's comment three weeks earlier about having faith that things would get better. At the time, Alexa had mentally mocked the idea of divine intervention. Now, however, she was seriously considering saying a prayer to ask for tonight to go well. If it did, it could be a kick start to her main roster career. If not, she might as well head home and forget wrestling because there would not be another chance like this for her, she knew that for sure.

"Alexa?" Heyman asked, looking to her for any additional input she might have regarding what he had just been discussing with Clem.

"Sounds great to me," she said with a smile. Although it would have looked better if she had made at least one suggestion, Alexa was keen not to rock the boat, not on this night. All she wanted to focus on was knocking her performance out of the park on Raw.

"Alright, good," Heyman said. "Now, I want to reassure both of you, particularly you, Alexa, that this isn't going to be a throwaway deal. There has been too much of that recently, starting things only to give up on them after a couple of weeks. That's not going to happen with this."

"Brilliant," Alexa said, beaming. The more she heard, the better things were getting.

"Lastly, more of a general point. We're bringing Lita in as an agent," Heyman revealed. "I thought it was a good idea to have a woman giving some input into the women's division, and Vince went for it. Lita loved the idea, so she's starting next week."

"Awesome," Clementine said. "Can't wait to work with her."

"Okay, I think that'll do it, unless there are any questions?" Heyman said.

Alexa and Clem confirmed that they had nothing to ask, so they were free to head backstage.

Walking beside her soon-to-be new partner, Alexa found herself wanting to thank Clementine for whatever she had done to bring this opportunity her way. But on the other hand she realised it would be the best idea to come across like a complete loser. They were going to be a team, which meant she had to believe in herself to hold up her end. It was easier said than done when she was so lacking in confidence, but she had to summon everything she'd got and put it to good use.

Not long after getting backstage, Alexa saw the writer named Ashley approaching her. They had seen each other briefly earlier when Ashley had been hurrying to speak to someone else. This time Alexa was the one she wanted to see. "Lexi, I have you for a backstage segment. Can we run through it?"

"Sure," Alexa said brightly.

"Catch up with you later," Clem said, parting ways with a pleasant smile.

"She's so down to earth," Alexa said quietly to Ashley as they moved over to the side of the hallway where they could talk without getting in the way of other people.

"Yeah," Ashley smiled. "Obviously I've known Clem since she made the main roster. Even though she's blown up like crazy this past year or so, she hasn't changed a bit."

"I've never really spoken to her all that much," Alexa said. "I keep myself to myself. Nia and Mickie are the only real friends I made, and now they're both injured."

"Well, I don't think you'll go wrong having Clem for a partner." With that Ashley looked at the printed out notes that she had in her hand and got down to business. "Right, it's you and Shane in his office. Drew's going to be there too, but he doesn't have anything to say in this one. You're going to demand an opportunity for yourself. You're going to talk about all of the frustration and pain you've been through since you've been on Raw. Talk about how you're sick of being the one who is left out of everything. Talk about being done with seeing everyone else get chances that you never get."

Alexa took a deep breath and gulped it down. Just hearing Ashley mention it all made her feel like she was on the brink of tears. "I think I'll cry if I start venting all that at him," she warned.

"Perfect," Ashley said, surprising Alexa. "People have been getting upset and annoyed on your behalf recently. Show them the pain. Show them that you've had enough. Give them a reason to really get behind you. Speak from the heart. And if you cry? So be it."

The suggestions made perfect sense, Alexa knew. She felt fire burning inside her. This was her chance to show what she could do. It was going to be the best damn promo she had ever given.

* * *

Before the commercial break at the end of Raw's first hour there had been a backstage segment with the IIconics paying Shane McMahon a visit in his office. In recent weeks they had been used backstage, mocking various female wrestlers. That trend had continued in Shane's office, with McMahon and the two Australians sharing a laugh at the expense of Naomi and Natalya.

After the break, Shane's office was shown again. The alleged best in the world was talking to his henchman Drew McIntyre, whose sense of humour had been absent while the IIconics had been in the room. He looked equally unimpressed when Alexa Bliss walked into the shot. Out in the arena, there was a small cheer from the limited number of fans who wanted to see her utilised more often on TV.

"Alexa," Shane said, turning to look at her. He sounded a little surprised to see her in his office. "Is there something you want?"

"Yes, there is something I want," Alexa said in a more strident tone than people were used to hearing from her. "I want an opportunity! I want a chance! Every week I show up just like everyone else. I train as hard as everyone else. No one is as committed to making a success of themselves in WWE as I am. I've had enough of being overlooked and forgotten about. I want an opportunity to show what I can do. I want to wrestle, damn it!" Her voice had broken a couple of times and she felt tears stinging her eyes. On live TV, her real feelings had come out for all to see. She felt like it had been a good promo.

Shane nodded thoughtfully in response to what she had said. "Alright," he said after a moment. "You want an opportunity, you can have one. Since I just had the IIconics in here, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll give you a shot at the Women's Tag Team Championships. All you have to do is find yourself a partner."

There was a look of surprise on Alexa's face, but she responded positively to what had been offered. "Okay! Find myself a partner. I can do that. I'll go do that right now."

After Alexa hurried out of the shot, McMahon and McIntyre looked at each other. "You're giving her a tag team title shot?" McIntyre asked, making it clear that he didn't find Alexa deserving of it.

"Yeah, but think about it. Who's going to team with her?" Shane said, amusing himself with his own quip.

It was enough to crack McIntyre's tough exterior. The two men stood there laughing at Alexa's expense as the segment came to an end.

* * *

The match for the Tag Team Championships was the main event of Raw. It was one more thing to add to the seemingly ludicrous turn of events for Alexa. Waiting behind the curtain in Gorilla while the IIconics made their entrance, she wondered if she ought to pinch herself and check if all of this was real.

"They do a good job, don't they?" Clementine said, referring to the IIconics talking their usual smack on the way to the ring.

"They irritate the hell out of people, so yeah," Alexa said. She was trying not to let her nerves show, firstly because she didn't want Clem to doubt her, and secondly because Vince McMahon and the production team were sitting a matter of feet away. They would undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on her.

Finished with their trash talk, the IIconics entered the ring, preparing for their unwanted title defence, which they had just described as unfair. Fighting champions was definitely not something they aspired to be.

Alexa took a deep breath, knowing that her moment was at hand. Her music hit, drawing a small cheer from the crowd. She walked out through the curtain, performed her pose at the top of the ramp and headed down to the ring. Climbing through the ropes, she was met with contemptuous looks from the two Australians.

"Where's your partner, Alexa?" Peyton asked, mocking her.

"Yeah, have you got any friends?" Billie asked before looking at her partner. "We can't relate." They both laughed loudly at their own humour.

Looking a little downcast, Alexa walked over to the corner of the ring and took a microphone. "I, uh, don't have a partner," she admitted. "I couldn't find anyone who wanted to team with me."

The champions laughed again, considering Alexa to be completely pathetic. "I'll tell you what, Alexa," Billie said. "Why don't we make a deal? You forfeit the match, and we won't kick your ass two on one."

"How about it?" Peyton asked.

The fans booed, not wanting Alexa to take the easy way out.

"No!" Alexa insisted. "I can't remember the last time I wrestled on Raw. I'm damned sure not giving up an opportunity to do it now. If I have to fight both of you by myself, I will." Receiving a cheer from the fans for her defiance, she dropped her microphone and prepared to defend herself.

The IIconics seemed happy enough to oblige her with the ass kicking they had promised to deliver. They both tossed their microphones out of the ring and started advancing across the ring towards Alexa.

That was when the distinctive guitar note that signalled the start of Clementine's music hit. Turning to face the stage and selling surprise, Alexa took in the ovation that Clem got. Everyone in the arena seemed to have come to their feet for her. She hoped that one day people would come to love her that much. Right now, it was a lofty ambition. There was an element of surprise in the reaction as well, because Clem's character was a cocky, sarcastic loner who fought alone regardless of what odds faced her.

Clementine walked quickly down the ramp, throwing her baseball cap out into the crowd as she always did while making an entrance. Alexa knew that the commentary team would be reminding the audience that the IIconics had ridiculed Clem the previous week. Apparently their comments hadn't gone unnoticed.

Reaching the ring, Clem slid under the bottom rope and started laying into Billie and Peyton with right hands. Kay was knocked down, while Royce was sent flying over the top rope. The crowd cheered Clementine on, fully aware that when she was pissed off and on a roll, there was almost no one who could stop her.

Billie quickly bounced back to her feet, only to take a floatover DDT, one of Clem's signature moves.

Clementine got up, hit the ropes on the entrance side of the ring, ran towards the other side and hurled herself between the top and middle ropes, taking Peyton out with a suicide dive.

Rushing back into the ring, Clementine found Billie getting back to her feet. Groggy from the DDT, Kay saw Clem coming and tried to take her head off with a Big Boot. Unfortunately for her, she missed wildly, and as she turned back around Clementine dropped her with her version of DDP's Diamond Cutter, named Diamond in the Rough.

The fans erupted, knowing that no one kicked out of Clem's finisher. She rolled Billie over and a made a cover.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

The crowd went off once again as the bell sounded and Clem's music started playing. Alexa had been standing in the corner the whole time. She raised her arms in celebration of the victory that she had not contributed to.

Mike Rome made his announcement. "Here are your winners, and the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, Alexa Bliss and Clementine!"

Clementine was back up, only now seeming to realise that she had just won the championships because the referee was trying to hand one to her. She snatched one of the belts and walked towards the entrance side of the ring, leaving without celebrating the win. The only acknowledgment Alexa got was an unfriendly glare.

Cheers followed Clem all the way up the ramp, continuing until she disappeared into the back. Alexa was left in the ring by herself, with her supposed partner's music still playing. Although she had done literally nothing in the short-lived match, she was holding a championship in her hand. Some applause came her way as she gave a theatrical shrug that said, 'I guess I'm a champion.'

Imagining the commentators selling the extraordinary fact that Alexa Bliss was one half of Tag Team Champions, she stepped into the middle of the ring. She had been told that the show would end with her posing with the belt. On the spot, she came up with a pose that she had never seen anyone do before. Holding the belt in both hands, she put in behind her so that it looked like it was sitting on her shoulder. Smiling, she looked into the hard camera.

Inside, Alexa was overjoyed. Only a matter of hours ago she had arrived at the arena expecting to spend the night doing nothing, as usual. Now she was closing out Raw as a champion. It almost seemed unreal. She couldn't wait until the next Raw episode, when she would find out where the storyline was going next.


	3. Chapter 3

Arriving at work on a Monday afternoon feeling excited felt new to Alexa. It had been so long since it had happened that it kind of felt like it had never happened at all, until now. She was almost certain to be on the show, and best of all, she had a championship belt in her travel case. Alexa Bliss was a champion on the main roster!

Ideally, Alexa would have liked to have run into Paul Heyman or one of the writing team on her way to the locker room so that she could find out what was lined up for her on Raw. It didn't happen, though. She did however exchange a few pleasant greetings with some of her colleagues. It was nice to know that while Vince McMahon had held her in the lowest regard, her peers didn't feel the same way.

Entering the women's locker room, Alexa found it about half full. Clementine, her on-screen partner, was there, as was Bayley. Apparently she was going to be one of the 'wildcards' later. Becky Lynch was the first to greet Alexa as her locker was one of the closest to the door.

"Here's the champ! That pose of yours got over big time."

Alexa laughed, appreciating the friendly and supportive comments. "Thanks, Becks. It was just something I did in the spur of the moment." Becky was right though. For whatever reason, the fans had loved the way she had posed with the belt. She had seen gifs of it flying around Twitter like there was no tomorrow. It was something to make her unique, she reasoned, and that was good.

Alexa exchanged pleasantries with a few of the women as she made her way over to her locker, then started unpacking her things. First out of her case was the championship belt, which she stood on the bench, giving it pride of place.

"Hey, Alexa. How are you?" Clementine asked, walking over to her.

"Oh, hi, Clem," Alexa said cheerfully. "I'm great. How are you?"

"Yeah, really good," Clementine smiled. "I wanted to speak to you quickly about tonight."

"Sure. Do you know what we're doing? I haven't spoken to anyone or seen a format yet."

Clementine nodded. "We have a backstage promo, then you have a singles match against Billie. You're to get the win with a surprise pin. You know, a small package or something. Afterwards, Billie and Peyton will give you a beating. People will be hoping I come and make the save."

"But you won't," Alexa guessed. She knew that the idea was to have a relatively slow build towards Clem being convinced to actually be a part of a team with her. It gave a lot of creative options, having tag team champions who were not even a proper team. Alexa hoped that when the time came for Clementine to do something that showed she accepted Alexa as a partner, it would receive a huge reaction from the fans. If things went according to plan, the audience would be begging Clem to do it before it actually happened.

"Right," Clem said. "So, that pretty much covers it for this week. The reason I wanted to touch base with you is that during the segment, I'm going to have to say a couple of pretty derogatory comments to you. You know what my character is like, she'll verbally shred anyone."

"And send the fans into a frenzy in the process," Alexa smiled. "They love that stuff. Honestly, I've always enjoyed it too. Say whatever you want, I'm fine with it. I don't mind having fun made of me for an angle at all."

Clementine smiled broadly, liking Alexa's response a lot. "Awesome. I'm excited about this thing. I think we're going to make a good team once things advance that far."

"It was your idea, right?" Alexa blurted out. For the past week, she had constantly found herself wondering exactly how this opportunity had come her way. She could see no logical explanation that didn't have Clementine behind it. If that was the case, it begged the further question of why Clem had gone out on a limb to help her.

"Not really," Clementine said carefully. "I had been asking for some time if I could be put into the tag division. I wanted it to mean something, you know? I got the feeling they were starting to treat it like a bit of an afterthought, and I didn't like that. It took some convincing, but Vince eventually got on-board with it. Then it was a matter of who to partner me with. I pitched hard for a making it someone who hadn't been used much lately. If you want me to be totally honest, I suggested Ruby Riott, but then she had to get surgery."

"Oh," Alexa said. Clem's comment hadn't been delivered with any intent to demean her, but it still got to her a bit. Still, she reasoned, she hadn't been first choice for anything since her call up, so there was no reason to be surprised that she hadn't been first choice for this either. What mattered was that the opportunity had ended up coming her way.

"It was Heyman who suggested your name. He called me over the weekend before last week's Raw and asked me what I thought about going ahead with the idea, with you as my partner. I've thought for some time that you've been getting a bit of a raw deal. I think you're a fantastic promo, and you're good in the ring. Plus I remembered how upset you were a few weeks back when we talked, so I said hell yeah, let's do it. And with that promo you gave to Shane last week, I think you started to prove any doubters wrong. You absolutely smashed it."

"Thank you. The vote of confidence means a lot," Alexa said humbly. "All I wanted was a chance to show what I can do. Now that I've got one, I'm not going to waste it."

Clementine smiled again. "Good to hear, because I think the two of us could go a long way with this, and we're going to make that mean something along the way," she said, pointing to Alexa's title belt.

* * *

Half an hour into Raw, Clementine was shown sitting in a locker room. She was dressed in ring attire and her customary baseball cap, with her title belt in her locker in the background. She looked up when Alexa approached her, also dressed in ring attire. Her title belt was worn proudly around her waist.

"Hello, partner," Alexa said cheerfully.

Clementine rolled her eyes. "Alexa, let me make something perfectly clear to you. I didn't go out there last week to team with you. I didn't go out there to be your partner. I didn't go out there to wrestle for the Tag Team Championships. The reason I went out there was because the IIconic idiots had made the mistake of mouthing off about me behind my back. Anyone who does that has an ass kicking coming their way, so that it why I was out there. I delivered the ass kicking they earned themselves."

"Well, whatever the reason you went out there, we are now the Women's Tag Team Champions," Alexa said positively, trying to encourage Clementine to see it as a good thing.

Slowly, Clementine stood up. "Alexa, I am not your partner. I am not your friend. I don't do friends, as I'm sure you well know. There's only one person I trust around here, and that's me. With that being said, for all I care you can go defend the Tag Team Championship, you can go fight the IIconics backstage, you can go sit in catering all night like you usually do. I don't care what you do, just don't expect me to want to team with your no talent ass, because it's not going to happen." She reached into her locker and took her title belt. "It's Clem and the people against everyone else, just like always, and this isn't going to change that," she said, brandishing the belt.

Looking downcast and rejected, Alexa turned and walked away, bringing the segment to an end.

* * *

Wrestling a match on Raw again after so long felt amazing for Alexa. Equally as enjoyable had been the cheer that she had received from the crowd when her music had hit. By Clementine's standards it would have been insignificant, but it meant the world to her to know that there were people out there who were supporting her.

When the call came from the referee to go home, Alexa felt mixed emotions. She was disappointed that the match was going to end, but at the same time she was delighted that she had put on an error-free performance. Working with Billie had been good. Alexa thought that the IIconics were a bit underestimated in terms of their wrestling, with people seeming to judge them solely on their irritating antics outside of the ring.

Billie climbed to the top rope and went for a splash. Alexa rolled out of the way, and as Billie landed, Alexa grabbed hold her legs, bundling her up into a pinning combination.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

The sudden victory garnered two different reactions; a cheer from the crowd and an anguished scream from Peyton Royce on the outside of the ring.

Getting up to celebrate the win, Alexa was handed her title belt by the referee as her name was announced. She allowed the referee to raise her hand before walking forward to pose in the centre of the ring with the belt. Lifting it behind her head, she allowed it to rest on her shoulder as she had the week before. This time she added a wink for good measure.

Seconds later, Peyton rushed Alexa from behind, smashing her in the back with a kendo stick that she had retrieved from under the ring.

The kendo stick shot didn't require much selling from Alexa since it actually did hurt like a bastard. She knew she was going to be left with welts by the time Peyton finished wearing her out with it.

Billie got up and joined her partner in the vicious attack, taking out the frustration of losing on her victor. Boos rained down on the ring in protest against the cowardly attack.

Rolling around, doing her best to cover up against the blows, Alexa heard some of the fans start chanting, 'Clem!' Although that in itself was nothing unusual, Alexa was delighted with it in this context. It meant that people wanted to see Clementine come and help her, and that meant they were starting to invest in the team, or at least in the idea of the team.

Unfortunately for those fans who wanted to see Clem, she wasn't coming. Peyton ended the destruction of Alexa with a shot across her back that broke the kendo stick.

Alexa heard more boos as the IIconics music began to play. Her role now was to lie there looking wrecked until the music and the lights above the ring went off, indicating that the show had gone to commercial.

When that happened, Alexa got up, picked up her belt and left the ring. Walking up the ramp, she felt the welts on her back stinging. There was also a particularly painful one of her left arm. She could see the red lines already. It was going to be very sore for a few days.

To Alexa's surprise, she found Clementine waiting for her in Gorilla when she walked through the curtain. Apparently, while her character was not interested in supporting in Alexa, the real Clem intended to do exactly that for her teammate.

"Great job!" Clem said with an enthusiastic smile. "You sold that beating really well."

"That's because they were actually beating me," Alexa replied with a good-natured chuckle. She showed Clem the nasty looking welt on her arm.

"Ouch," Clem said sympathetically. "Come on, let's get you to the doctor's office and have him put something on that for you."

Alexa started to walk with Clementine towards the exit of Gorilla.

"Nice work, Alexa!" Vince McMahon called out from behind the production desk.

Of everything that had happened throughout the night, those few words of praise meant the most of all to her. At long last, some recognition from the boss. "Thank you!" she said, flashing him a smile.

In that moment, Alexa felt like she was on top of the world. She had the feeling that her entire career had turned around in the space of seven days. She had a push, a title, a teammate, and possibly even a new friend in the making as well. Onwards and upwards, she thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Now two weeks into her reign as one half of the Women's Tag Team Champions, Alexa was starting to move past her state of euphoria and into a mindset that she had a job to do. Being a champion was serious business, so she had to take it seriously. As great as it was to finally have an opportunity, she knew that she wouldn't impress anyone by continuing to act surprised that she had it.

For that reason, Alexa made a point of walking into the locker room like someone who deserved to be there. She projected confidence in herself, which was sure had not been the case for quite some time. It was her hope that while her colleagues probably wouldn't comment on it, they would notice the change in her demeanour.

To her slight disappointment, no one paid any attention when she entered the locker room as one of the last to arrive. The room was alive with chatter, even more so than usual. Something was going on, she realised within a moment of stepping through the door. Walking over to her locker, she was able to catch the eye of Clementine, who walked over to join her.

"Hey, Clem," Alexa smiled as she dumped her travel case on the bench in front of her locker, ready for unpacking. "What's happening?"

Clementine had her phone in her hand. She used her finger to quickly scroll through something, then turned the device around for Alexa to see. Clem was on Twitter, and had brought up a tweet by WWE that had been put out about fifteen minutes earlier. It was hyping up a segment for that night's Raw, stating that Shane McMahon was going to announce a manager of the Raw women's division.

"Oh!" Alexa exclaimed with interest. "One of Heyman's ideas, I assume?"

"I think it's safe to say that," Clem agreed. "Guess who it is?"

"I don't know," Alexa said shaking her head. "Wait, do you know?"

Clem grinned. "I do. Lita told Becky, and Becky told us. I don't know if we're meant to know ahead of time, so keep your mouth shut around Vince and Hunter."

Alexa recalled that it was Lita's first night as an agent for the women's segments on Raw. In all likelihood, they would be getting together to go over a match or a promo. "Come on then, tell me!" she cried.

"Nikki Bella," Clem said, smiling as she passed on the news.

"Aww, I love that," Alexa said, smiling warmly. Nikki was very well liked in the locker room, in contrast to way a lot of WWE's fan base treated her. "I was so sad when I heard she's had to retire."

"Right?" Clem agreed. "And she kept it to herself until that interview instead of making a big deal out of it. I have so much love for her."

"Is she going to be here tonight?" Alexa asked, assuming that the answer was no.

"Starts next week, according to what Becky heard."

It made sense, Alexa thought. The Raw after a pay-per-view was a good place to start something new. Thinking about the pay-per-view reminded her that the team the fans were starting to call Blissentine were not currently on the card for Extreme Rules. "The night after Extreme Rules," she observed. "I've been wondering if we're going to be on the show?"

"Aren't I a good partner? I've got you an answer on that as well," Clementine reported with another smile. She stepped over to her locker and grabbed a copy of the formats for Raw. It was already folded to the page that she wanted to show, so she handed it straight over.

Segment 3, Alexa read. Clementine vs Royce w/ Alexa run in, followed by Shane McMahon announcement of tag team championship match at Extreme Rules.

It was sparse on detail, but that would be filled in later when they talked with Lita.

"Us against the IIconics," Clementine said unnecessarily.

Alexa nodded. "Yeah. It'll be interesting to see how we have to play it, since we're a long way from on the same page heading into tonight."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Clem said.

* * *

Alexa had gone with Clementine to Gorilla ahead of Raw's third segment. Lita was there when they got there, a requirement since she was the agent for the upcoming match. Alexa would not be needed until Clem's match with Peyton Royce was over, but it wasn't going to last long. Gorilla was also the perfect place to watch from. It was also the perfect place to listen from. As seemed to be the case every week, Clem had been given a rapturous ovation. She wasn't going to cut a promo before the match as she sometimes did, yet the crowd still chanted her name after her music faded out.

The IIconics' music hit, immediately turning the cheers to boos. Thanks largely to Clem's popularity, Billie and Peyton were quickly picking up heel height, as opposed to the 'you annoy me' heat that they'd had since their time in NXT. Alexa gave the two Australians an encouraging smile before they walked through the curtain, not that they needed her encouragement.

Listening to Peyton and Billie cut one of their intentionally irritating promos on the way to the ring made Alexa smile. It all helped to fire the crowd up before Clem made short work of Peyton. Precious few people would have been able to see Peyton as a legitimate threat to Clem one on one, so WWE hadn't bothered to book her as one.

Only a couple of minutes into the match, Clem countered an attempted suplex by Peyton by athletically springing through the air and landing on her feet behind her opponent. Peyton sensed that something had gone wrong and quickly spun around, only to take a Diamond in the Rough. The fans cheered loudly and joined in with the count, which was a formality.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

Another cheer almost drowned out the sound of the bell. Clem's music began to play, and the referee briefly raised her hand when she got up, only to have it snatched away from him. She didn't need or want the help of a referee to celebrate. Her usual routine was to stand on the middle turnbuckle in a corner of the ring, facing out towards the crowd, before walking over to the diagonally opposite corner and doing there same thing there also.

"Okay, any moment now," Lita said to Alexa, getting ready to cue her rush to the ring.

Alexa smiled. Although Lita seemed a bit nervous in her new job, which was totally understandable, she was obviously enjoying it.

Out in the ring, Clementine finished her celebration in one of the corners on the entrance side of the ring. Getting down off the ropes, she walked across the ring and climbed onto the middle turnbuckle in the opposite corner. Her back was to the ring itself, giving Billie Kay an opportunity to sneak into the ring unnoticed, brandishing a steel chair.

The fans began shouting, trying to warn Clem of the danger that was creeping up behind her. Billie was going to smash her in the back with the chair. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it wouldn't be the only chair shot coming Clem's way, either. After the beatdown with a Kendo stick that had been inflicted on Alexa the previous week, another one was about to now be handed out.

"Go!" Lita said to Alexa.

Running through the curtain and down the ramp, Alexa had to look angry despite the fact that she was buzzing inside thanks to the cheer that she was getting. Sure, some of it was because it was Clem she was coming to help, but nonetheless the fans were cheering Alexa Bliss with real enthusiasm. It meant a lot to her.

Alexa slid into the ring and rushed Billie from behind before she could strike Clem with the chair. Billie was just about to swing when Alexa lunged forward and smashed her in the back with a double axe handle, knocking her down. The chair landed on the mat with a crash, alerting Clementine to the fact that something was going on behind her. She turned around to find Alexa standing there over Billie, who had a chair lying next to her. It was apparent that Alexa had just saved Clem from an attack.

The referee handed the tag team title belt that he had been holding to Alexa and scurried out of the ring. The only problem was that it wasn't Alexa's belt. This was the one that belonged to Clementine.

Slowly, Clementine got down off the turnbuckle and approached Alexa. There was a quizzical look on her face, as if she didn't quite understand why Alexa had come out to help her.

Alexa held the belt out to Clem. "We're a team," she said pointedly. "We're a team, and we're the champions."

The fans started cheering again, trying to encourage Clem to take the belt from Alexa, hoping that it would be a sign of a friendship starting to form between them.

Without saying anything or giving much away with her expression, Clementine took the belt and put it over her shoulder. She made to leave the ring, but only got as far as the ropes before Shane McMahon's music hit and stopped her in her tracks.

The fans booed Shane's second appearance of the night. He had already been to the ring earlier in the show to cut a promo, part of which had involved the announcement of Nikki Bella as manager of the Raw women's division.

"I'm glad to see the two of you getting on the same page," Shane said, not sounding like he meant it. "Because this Sunday at Extreme Rules, you're going to need to be on the same page when you defend those Women's Tag Team Championships against the IIconics." Announcement complete, his music began to play and he walked off the stage.

By now, Billie and Peyton were out of the ring and leaving through the crowd. They looked pleased with the news of the rematch they had been given without doing much to earn it.

Meanwhile, Clementine looked a lot less than happy. She stormed over to the closest corner of the ring to where the two Australians were retreating and sent a mouthful of abuse in their direction, pointing at them to add even more emphasis.

Alexa stood there trying to look annoyed about having to face the undeserving challengers, but at the same time kind of pleased that she was going to have a chance to properly team up with Clementine.

The feeling did not appear to be mutual, for Clem shot a glare in Alexa's direction before leaving the ring. Ahead of Extreme Rules the team informally known as Blissentine were the champions, but they were not seeing things eye to eye. Alexa imagined the commentary team emphasising that fact as the segment came to an end.


	5. Chapter 5

It was quite remarkable to Alexa that she was now losing sleep about her job with WWE for the exact opposite reason than she had been a month ago. Back then, she had been grappling with the prospect of quitting the company over her lack of opportunities. That would have left her future looking very uncertain indeed. By contrast, she was now about to walk into the locker room feeling tired from lack of sleep the previous night because she was going to compete in a championship match on a pay-per-view.

Entering the locker room, the first thing Alexa noticed was that Nikki Bella was in there. She looked beautiful as ever, wearing a sexy dark red dress that showed off her figure perfectly. Retirement or not, she was positively glowing as she shared some kind of joke with Clementine. Both women were laughing when Alexa walked over to them, greeting a few of her colleagues along the way.

"Here she is," Clementine said, smiling to greet Alexa.

"Hi!" Alexa beamed. "Nikki, it's so good to see you back, even if it's not the way we would have wanted."

"Thanks, Lexi," Nikki said, offering and immediately receiving a hug. "Of course I'm sad that I won't be able to compete again, but at the same time I'm delighted to have been offered the role of Raw Women's Division Manager. It keeps me close to the business I love, and to all my girls!"

"We wouldn't have it any other way," Clem said.

"Anyway, enough about me. Can we talk about how you've been smashing it?" Nikki exclaimed, looking at Alexa.

"Thank you. That really means so much to me," Alexa said. "I'm just trying to seize the opportunity now that I've got it."

"You're seizing it," Clementine assured her. "Our team is becoming one of the hottest things in WWE right now."

"Let's hope that's still the case after tonight," Alexa said, wondering what Vince McMahon, Paul Heyman and the rest of the creative team had in mind for them.

Without saying anything, Clementine picked up a copy of the formats from the bench in front of her locker and handed it over.

* * *

Standing in Gorilla, Alexa couldn't stop smiling. This was the kind of moment she had dreamed of ever since she had first signed a contract with WWE. Out in the arena, the fans were pumped up for the Women's Tag Team Championship match. Currently, they were strongly booing the IIconics, who were talking their unique brand of smack on the way to the ring, as they always did. The fact that they were targeting Clementine with a lot of it wasn't helping their popularity at all, not that they cared.

Shortly, Alexa heard the promo come to an end. Any moment now, her music would hit. Due to the fact that Blissentine were still not portrayed as being on the same page, they were going to enter separately. As the fan favourite, the last entrance would be given to Clem. Alexa took a deep breath and let it out slowly, fighting back a sudden attack of nerves.

Apparently Clementine noticed, for she put a hand on Alexa's shoulder and said, "Relax. You've got this."

"Thanks, Clem," Alexa said. The small vote of confidence actually helped a lot.

Alexa's music began to play, drawing one of the biggest cheers she had ever received. It was far removed from the kind of reaction Clem got week after work, but Alexa still loved it. The audience were getting behind her more and more with each passing show.

Walking through the curtain, Alexa made sure to look all business. She was in a heated rivalry with the IIconics. In character, she was coming out to beat their asses, not to have a good time.

Wearing her title belt around her waist, she gave her signature pose, raising both of her hands and closing them into fists.

"And their opponents, the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions," Mike Rome announced. "First, from Columbus, Ohio, Alexa Bliss!"

Alexa purposefully strode down the ramp, walked around to the side of the ring closest to the hard camera and entered the ring. Facing out towards the crowd, she took off her title belt and raised it behind her to give her new second signature pose.

That was the moment Billie and Peyton chose to rush forward and attack Alexa from behind, knocking her down. Once they had her down on the mat, they started kicking the hell out of her, intent on destroying half of their opposition before the match got started.

Boos started to rain down on the ring. They were replaced in a matter of moments by a 'Clem' chant, the fans calling in the cavalry.

The production crew held back Clementine's entrance for another few moments, building the anticipation. Alexa continued selling the beating she was receiving.

Clementine's music finally hit. As Alexa had expected, the crowd went wild. It was obvious that the whole beginning of the segment was about giving Clem this set piece, but Alexa figured it was fair enough. The fans lapped it up, and entertaining them was the name of the game.

Clem came running down the ramp, throwing her cap out into the crowd along the way.

Billie and Peyton turned their attention away from Alexa and towards Clem as she slid into the ring. It was already too late. Clem flattened Peyton with a clothesline and started hammering away on Billie with right hands.

After a few powerful blows, Billie was slumped against the ropes. Clementine grabbed her by the back of the head and ran with her across the ring, launching her over the top rope.

Peyton made it back to her feet after the clothesline, only to meet the same fate as her partner. Clem sent her over the top rope, landing beside Billie on the floor. The match wasn't even underway yet, but Clem had saved her partner from a beating and cleared the ring of their opponents.

It gave the referee a chance to impose some order, managing to get Alexa and Clementine over to their corner. The bedraggled IIconics got up, dusted themselves off and made their way around to their corner, complaining loudly to the referee about what had happened as they did so.

Thirty seconds later, the match was finally able to actually begin.

* * *

Ten minutes later, chaos descended once more when Clementine managed to make a hot tag to Alexa after spending a long time isolated by the IIconics. The roar that greeted her tag would have given Alexa goosebumps if she had been able to properly take it in, but her attention was focused solely on going after the two Australians.

With the fans cheering her on, Alexa started hitting move after move on both opponents. She was really on a roll. When she hit her finishing DDT on Peyton, the legal opponent, the crowd popped once again, sensing that the finish might be at hand.

"One!"

"Two!"

Billie threw herself across the ring, landing on Alexa just in time to break up the cover.

Clementine had now made it back to her feet. She picked Billie up and launched her over the ropes on the entrance side of the ring.

After hitting the floor, Billie quickly got up, unnoticed by Clem, who had turned around to face Alexa and Peyton. Billie reached under the bottom rope, grabbed both of Clem's ankles and pulled her legs out from under.

Clementine hit the mat face first, and was then dragged under the bottom rope by Billie. Two battles were now going on, one outside of the ring and one inside it.

Another couple of near falls happened in the ring, meanwhile Billie got the upper hand on Clem on the outside thanks to a poke in the eye. Billie pulled a long black electrical cable out from under the ring apron and entered the ring with it. Her intentions soon became apparent when Clementine stood up on the outside. In line with WWE's recent move towards edgier content, possibly leading to a future move away from PG, Billie reached through the ropes, wrapped the chord around Clem's neck and started strangling her with it.

Alexa noticed the horrifying situation that her partner was in and abandoned the leg lock she had been about to put on Peyton. Running at Billie, Alexa scooped her legs up into the air and bundled her over the top rope, rescuing Clem in the process.

Peyton crawled up behind Alexa and pulled her over backwards into a pinning combination.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

The crowd howled their shock and disapproval as Alexa kicked out at three and half, already realising that she had lost. Her hands went to her face, the agonising defeat hitting home. The bell had sounded.

"Here are your winners, and the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, the IIconics!" Mike Rome announced.

Shrieking in delight at their win, Billie and Peyton snatched their newly-won title belts from the referee and scrambled from the ring as Clementine came back in, too late to catch them.

Alexa sat on her knees in the middle of the ring, hands over her face. She was doing her best to sell being mortified at the fact that she had lost the championships for herself and Clementine. She knew that the commentary team would be pointing out that it only happened because she had gone to rescue Clem, causing her to take her attention off Peyton.

Clementine looked furious with what had happened, but her anger notably did not appear to be focused on Alexa. It was directed to the new champions, who were celebrating up by the stage.

Clem paced around the ring, swinging a frustrated kick at one of the bottom ropes. Meanwhile Alexa got back to her feet in tears, apologising to her partner.

Sympathetically, and perhaps fearing Clem undeservedly attacking Alexa for losing, most of the fans rose to their feet, applauding the popular team even in defeat.

Clementine stood and looked at Alexa for a moment before shaking her head in disappointment and leaving the ring.

Making no attempt to stop her partner from going, Alexa stood there wiping her eyes, making like she was trying to stop herself crying as the segment came to an end. Inside, she was delighted. There was no doubt that the applause had been for her as well as for Clem. She also felt sure that they had left people wondering what would happen the next night on Raw. What was the status of Blissentine now that they had lost their championships?


	6. Chapter 6

The second segment of the Raw episode after Extreme Rules began with Nikki Bella going to the ring. Watching from Gorilla, Alexa was happy that the new manager of the Raw women's division was given quite a warm reception. She had half expected the crowd to try and be clever by booing Nikki. Some crowds were like that, thinking the show was all about them. Thankfully, this didn't seem to be one of them.

Nikki began by expressing how happy she was to be back in WWE, even if she could no longer compete. She reminded anyone who might have missed the previous episode that she had been put in charge of the Raw women's division, and with that in mind she outlined some plans for the Raw Women's Championship in the run up to Summerslam.

"Okay, Clem, here we go," Lita said. As usual, she was the agent for the women's segments, and was standing with Alexa and Clem in Gorilla to supervise the segment.

Clementine's music hit, interrupting Nikki and receiving a loud ovation. Clem walked quickly through the curtain, looking all business. No one knew where she stood with regard to the Blissentine team after Extreme Rules, and no one knew where Blissentine, if it still existed, stood with regard to the tag team title picture now that they had lost the championships back to the IIconics.

Clem soon hit the ring and fetched a microphone for herself. Before she could say anything, a 'Clem' chant filled the arena. Clementine waited it out without particularly acknowledging it, then launched into what she had come out to say. Surprising no one, she didn't bother congratulating Nikki on her appointment. "Last night, Alexa Bliss and myself lost the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships to the IIconics," she began, prowling around the ring while Nikki stood in the centre.

Loud boos came from the fans. Nikki grimaced, showing that she thought what had happened had been rather unfortunate.

"Initially, I was pissed off with Alexa for getting pinned by Peyton Royce," Clem went on. "I couldn't believe she had allowed herself to get caught out in the way she did. But when I got back to my hotel room and watched the match back, I saw that Alexa had things well under control until she went to save my ass from being choked out by Billie Kay. I had to face up the fact that by getting myself in that position, I caused us to lose the match. It was on me, not Alexa."

Some of the fans booed again, not happy with the idea of Clementine blaming herself for the defeat.

"No, it's true," Clem said. "But you're not going to see me out here crying about it. Losing is part of wrestling. The reason I'm out here, Nikki Bella, is to tell you that I want a rematch for Alexa Bliss and myself against the IIconics, with the titles on the line, and I want it tonight." She had finished by stepping up to the new boss and getting in her face, almost daring her to say no.

Maintaining her composure, Nikki took a step back and thought about the demand for a moment. "As I recall," she said thoughtfully, "when the IIconics lost the Women's Tag Team Championships to Blissentine, they were granted a rematch."

"Never say that word again," Clem cut in, drawing laughter from the fans. A good-natured 'Blissentine' chant started up.

Nikki didn't continue right away, subtly encouraging the chant by looking out into the crowd. She was smiling when she picked up where she had left off. "The IIconics were granted a rematch, so I think it's only fair for you to be granted one as well."

The fans cheered in approval and Clementine started pacing around the ring again, looking pleased with what she had heard.

"Unfortunately," Nikki said, holding up a finger to tell everyone not to get their hopes up too much. "Unfortunately the IIconics are not here tonight, so the rematch will have to happen next week on Raw."

The fans booed, annoyed that they were not going to get to see it. Clem didn't look much happier than they were about the news.

"I know, Clem, it's not ideal, but it's the best I can do," Nikki said. "One thing I might remind you of is that next week's Raw is taking place in Atlanta."

That drew a small cheer from the crowd and a more positive reaction from Clementine. It was no secret to anyone who paid the least bit of attention to ring announcements that Atlanta, Georgia was Clem's hometown.

"Fine," Clem said. "Alexa and I will face the IIconics next Monday on Raw." She looked right into the hard camera as she finished what she had to say. "Billie, Peyton, next week you're going to bring those titles into Clementine country, and you're going to get the ass kicking of a life time. Whether it's Clementine or Alexa Bliss, one of us is going to pin you and take back exactly what's ours, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships."

Cheers came from the crowd as they picked up on Clem's move closer to accepting Alexa as a partner. People may have expected Clementine's music to play, bringing an end to the segment. Instead, Alexa's music hit, to quite an ovation. Surprised, both Nikki and Clem turned to face the stage.

The last time Alexa had been seen on TV, at the end of the match at Extreme Rules, she had been in tears after being pinned by Peyton Royce. Walking out onto the stage now, tears looked to be very far away indeed. She looked fired up, even angry.

Walking quickly to the ring, Alexa stepped through the ropes and accepted the microphone that Nikki offered her. Her attention was focused only on Clementine. When she spoke, her voice contained a level of determination that had never been heard from her from her before. "Clem, I'm glad you want to fight the IIconics again for the Women's Tag Team Championship, because I do too. You say you did some reflecting Sunday night after Extreme Rules. I did too. I'm done crying. I'm done obsessing about whether I'm good enough to team with you. I'm done telling myself I'm not cut out to be a champion. Damn it, I am good enough to be a champion. I'm good enough to team with you, and I'm good enough to beat the IIconics. Next Monday night, that's exactly what I… what we are going to do. We are going to walk out of Atlanta as the champions, so help me god."

With the fans cheering loudly, Alexa dropped her mic. Her music began to play as she marched back out of the ring as quickly as she had entered it. She left Clementine standing there nodding slowly in approval. It seemed that she liked the change she had just witness in Alexa Bliss. Whether Clem liked the name or not, Blissentine were close to being on the same page.

Walking up the ramp, Alexa felt goosebumps on her arms. Even she was surprised with how much feeling she had put into her promo, and she was delighted with the response it had gotten. The commentary team would now be talking up the fact that Alexa and Clem properly joining forces would be very bad news for Billie Kay and Peyton Royce.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey, Alexa. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Surprised to hear Clementine's request, Alexa turned around to find her tag team partner hurrying after her along the hallway. Alexa felt on the defensive immediately, wondering why whatever Clem had to say couldn't have been said before she had left the locker room to go to catering. She assumed there was something bad coming her way.

"Uh, sure, Clem," she replied hesitantly. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's great, that's why I wanted to have a quick word with you in private," Clem said as she ushered Alexa over to the side of the hallway.

"Okay," Alexa said, encouraging her to go on.

"I wanted to say thank you for how well you've played your part in making the early days of Blissentine go so well. It was important to me to be a part of a tag team that would make a big difference to the division. You've absolutely smashed it. The fans love us. And tonight we're going out there to perform in front of my home crowd. It's going to be an amazing night for me, and part of that is down to you. So, yeah, thank you."

Alexa bit her bottom lip, utterly humbled by the kind words. "Thank you, Clem. That means so much to me. I thought you were coming to say you'd asked Vince to end the team or something."

"Girl, you need more self confidence," Clem said. "You've been slept on for a long time, but the genie is out of the bottle now. You have shown them exactly what Alexa Bliss can do. Your promos especially are lit. I'm hoping Blissentine is a team that stays together for a very long time. I'm talking New Day long. I think that between us we can come up with enough ideas to keep it fresh."

"I'm with you on that. Honestly, I'm having the time of my life. I could have quit WWE not long back, but now I'm on cloud nine because of this opportunity and this team. So you don't have to thank me, I'm thanking you."

Clem put an arm around her and they exchanged a friendly hug. "Then we're thanking each other. Tonight, we show them the proper Blissentine for the first time."

"Even if you don't let them use the name," Alexa said.

Both laughing, they started walking together in the direction of catering.

* * *

Waiting behind the curtain for a commercial break to end, Alexa had never felt so alive. All of her senses were operating at their fullest. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end. There was an electric atmosphere out in the arena, and it was having a profound effect on her.

The reason the fans were buzzing was that Clementine had just been shown walking along a hallway backstage with a 'Next' graphic in the corner of the screen. Her hometown crowd were ready to blow the roof off the arena.

When the show went live again and Clem's music immediately hit, Alexa was stunned by the roar that filled the arena. She had never heard anything like it in her life.

"Oh my," Clem breathed. Only Alexa was standing close enough to hear her. She reached out and gave her partner's arm a little squeeze before Clem led the way through the curtain.

For this special occasion, Clementine had two surprises for her fans. Firstly, she emerged into the arena wearing an Atlanta Falcons jersey over her ring attire. Secondly, she had Alexa right behind her.

Walking into the wall of noise, Alexa had no idea how much of the reaction was for her or the fact that Blissentine were entering together for the first time. She decided to simply enjoy it, figuring that any career in wrestling wouldn't have many moments like this no matter how successful it was.

Mike Rome started his ring announcement. "This contest is set for one fall, and it is for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship! Introducing first, the team of Alexa Bliss and Clementine, Blissentine!"

Alexa had to supress a laugh. She had not been told that the name was going to start being used officially. In character, Clem would not be best pleased about it.

When she entered the ring just behind her partner, Alexa saw that Clem was heading over to the corner of the ring to get a microphone. She was given the leeway to cut short unscripted promos before her matches if she chose to. Perhaps unsurprisingly, in front of her home crowd was going to be one such occasion.

Clem's music faded out once she had the microphone in hand. The fans were already chanting 'Clem!' over the music anyway.

Alexa stood in the corner, warming up and giving her partner centre stage.

"I've travelled to more countries, wrested in more cities that I can count with WWE, but there's no place like home."

Another roar filled the arena, then a 'Welcome home!' chant broke out. Watching on, Alexa had no idea how Clem kept a straight face, barely even responding to the outpouring of support.

"And tonight," Clem said when the chant started to die down, "Nikki Bella decided to give me a welcome home gift in the form of a chance to give an ass kicking to the two most annoying bitches WWE has ever seen."

Yes another cheer filled the arena. Alexa nodded in agreement with what Clem had said just in case she happened to be on camera.

"So, IIconics, walk down here and spout your usual crap," Clem said. "While you're doing it, enjoy carrying those title belts, because it's the last time you're going to do it."

Clementine tossed the microphone out of the ring, bringing the promo to an end. Boos rained down when the IIconic's theme music began to play.

* * *

To further play up to Clementine's status as the hometown favourite it was Alexa who had ended up being isolated in the ring by Billie and Peyton. They had spent more than five minutes giving her a comprehensive beating, but she had refused to stay down.

Frustration began to build for the Australian team at their inability to close out the match. Ultimately, that frustration proved to be their downfall. After getting a close near fall, Billie lost her temper with the referee, chasing him across the ring and raging about the speed of his count.

Alexa started crawling towards her corner, where Clem was waiting with her hand outstretched, begging for a tag and a chance to get her hands on the opponents.

Turning around, Billie saw what was about to happen. She rushed over and grabbed Alexa's left foot, stopping her from crawling any further.

Forced to get up and stand on one leg, Alexa looked set for a fairly common spot that would have seen her deliver an enziguri to Billie. But she didn't. Instead of attacking, Alexa pushed herself up as hard as she could with her free leg, jumping into a backflip. As she flew through the air she stretched out her arm and Clem was able to tag it.

The crowd erupted as Clementine charged into the ring. Billie was standing there like a rabbit caught in the headlights. She let out a comedic scream before Clem blasted her with a clothesline and took her off her feet.

Peyton had rushed into the ring as soon as Alexa tagged out. Clem caught her rushing in and used her momentum against her to deliver a powerslam.

Billie got back up and ran at Clem, only for Clem to step aside and fling her over the top rope.

With the fans cheering her on, Clem eyed up Billie on the outside. Sprinting across the ring, she hit the ropes, ran back in the other direction and launched herself through the ropes, taking out Billie with a suicide dive.

Wasting no time or energy on showboating, Clem quickly picked Billie up and bundled her back into the ring. Climbing back in herself, she made a cover.

"One!"

"Two!"

Peyton arrived in time to jump on top of Clem and break up the pin.

Clem got up and began exchanging right hands with Peyton, soon getting the upper hand and forcing the Australian back into a corner of the ring.

Taking Peyton's arm, Clem whipped her across the ring as hard as she could, sending her crashing hard into the turnbuckles.

Holding her back in pain, Peyton staggered out of the corner. Clem was already leaping into the air, and was able to deliver a Diamond in the Rough, bringing the fans to their feet.

Billie was back in the ring. As Clem got up after delivering her finisher, Billie blasted her in the face with a Big Boot and made a cover.

"One!"

"Two!"

Clementine kicked out.

"Come on!" Billie screamed at the referee in despair. Looking unsure what to do next since her finisher hadn't worked, she picked Clem up and whipped her into the ropes.

It was at that moment that Alexa got back up onto the apron. She was able to reach Clem and slap her back, tagging herself back in.

Billie went for another Big Boot, but this time Clem was able to duck it. In the same fluid motion, she caught Billie as she spun around and hit another Diamond in the Rough. The fans went off again, but the match wasn't over.

After making her tag, Alexa had climbed up to the top rope. Clem spotted her and realised what she had in mind. To assist, she dragged Billie closer to the corner.

Now the crowd were cheering Alexa on, sensing that she was about to put an end to the IIconics once and for all. Standing on the top rope, she raised her hands and closed her fingers to form fists. With that, she leapt through the air and hit Twisted Bliss. As the legal member of the team, it was on her to make the cover.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

One more roar of approval greeted the victory. Blissentine were two time tag team champions.

Although they were now entering together and working more smoothly as a team, celebrating with Alexa was apparently still beyond Clem's limits. She snatched the two titles belts from the time keeper as he offered them through the ropes. She threw one at Alexa before climbing to the middle turnbuckle to celebrate.

Alexa raised her own title belt, revelling in the moment. She was a champion again, and this time she wasn't going to be losing it after a couple of weeks. She recalled a conversation she and Clem had had with Paul Heyman earlier that day. "This is going to be a long run now that you'll be done with Billie and Peyton," he had said. "The two of you are going to be the faces of the division, on Raw, Smackdown, NXT, everywhere. Blissentine are where we want those titles to be. Make them mean something."

I will make them mean something, Alexa thought, determined that this victory in Atlanta was going to be only the start of Blissentine's story. She had visions of them one day entering the WWE Hall of Fame as a team. Sure, it was a lofty ambition, but what was there in life if you couldn't dream big?


End file.
